Tips to help you in choosing an extracurricular activity in college

By Avishai Bitton, Aug 13, 2017

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If your parents haven’t said, “Your college years are the best years of your life” at least 5489 times, are you even a college student? But in all fairness, college is great. With the parties, the independent living, the people, the classes and the whole experience, college really can be the best time of your life, especially if you go all out. So, if you have a few spare hours in between your lectures and tonight’s fraternity party (which you know you probably shouldn’t go to, but still do anyway) why not try out an extracurricular activity?

Extracurriculars that relate to your career

If you know your future career path, extracurricular activities can really help you out during your college years. There are many clubs and organizations at each university that will not only provide you with skills related to your chosen field, but they will also allow you to meet like-minded people, and add a little something extra to your resume which will set you above the rest. It could be as simple as signing up to join the school newspaper if you dream to become a journalist, or it could be joining the debating team if you fancy a career in politics. However, there is more to it than that. Many colleges and universities also offer pre-professional and academic clubs, like the Nursing Students Association, the Academy of Law and Criminal Justice and the Entrepreneurship Club. So, have a think about what you want to do in life, and see if your college extracurriculars match with that goal.

Extracurriculars that relate to our hobbies

As a kid and through adolescence, nearly all of us have hobbies. Whether this is playing football, playing a musical instrument, taking art classes, writing poems, or even playing video games, these hobbies normally come to a halt when you get to college because you have less time for them. However, many of us still have a desire to continue these, and extracurriculars can give you that outlet if you choose an extracurricular activity that relates to your hobby. For example, if you loved to play football, try out for the team (and if you don’t make the cut, just find a group of people for a kick about of your own). If your hobby was writing poems, why not see if there’s a slam poetry club? And if you loved playing video games and have a keen knack for computers, why not see if you can join the A.V. club or join forces with the art and theater department to help them out with productions? The opportunities are endless.

Extracurriculars that keep you moving

If you’re the kind of student who spends most of their time in the library, sitting down and catching up on work, you might find that you get a bit claustrophobic. Sometimes, you need to get up, shake it off and have a little move about! So if you find yourself sitting down for most of the day and want to keep active, why not join a sports club? You will find sports clubs at every single college, and it’s up to you which one you want to join. With everything from gymnastics to martial arts, to football, and basketball, there are so many to choose from – but of course, it would help if you had previous experience!

Extracurriculars that aren’t clubs

When it comes down to it, there is more to extracurricular activities than just joining clubs – and these options are great if the clubs available don’t appeal to you. If you want to get even more work experience, you could spend your time outside of the classroom undertaking an internship with a company or volunteering with a charity. You may even find opportunities on-campus, such as working for the college radio station, or working in the cafe or restaurant!

If you’re looking for an extracurricular activity, the best thing to do is to have a think about what it is you’ve already done in the past that you really enjoyed doing. See if there’s a club or society that you can follow your passion with like-minded people. If you have never done anything extracurricular before, or just fancy a change, then think about the type of person you are. Are you creative or sporty? Do you want to be on a stage showcasing your talents or would you prefer to immerse yourself in a virtual reality? Once you’ve figured that out, there will be an extracurricular activity at your college that will tick all of those boxes.